Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood says it won’t recognize Israel

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Muslim Brotherhood, which is leading in the national elections in Egypt, said it will not recognize Israel.

The party’s deputy head, Rashad Bayoumi, told the Al-Hayat Arabic newspaper that the Muslim Brotherhood also would work to cancel the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

"No Muslim Brotherhood members will engage in any contact or normalization with Israel," he reportedly said in the interview with the London-based paper published Sunday.

“The Brotherhood respects international conventions, but we will take legal action against the peace treaty with the Zionist entity,” Al Hayat reported, according to Reuters.

Last week, the Salafi Al-Nour party, which won up to 30 percent of the vote in the first two rounds of parliamentary elections in Egypt, reportedly said in a statement that the party will "stand firmly against normalization between the two countries in all forms, and are against ties with any entity that wants to harm the Egyptian identity."

The statement came after a spokesman for the party said in an interview with Israel’s Army Radio that the party would respect all treaties signed by Egypt, including the 1979 pact with Israel, though party leaders later clarified that the party is looking into the matter.